JVC CR-600U and CR-850U
 

I have two U-matic VTRs here which don't work. One takes a tape but then says "Error 42" and shuts off. The other does not take a tape and say "Error 113." Doesn't shut off. I could not find the manuals online. There is a local VCR repair center nearby. Since U-Matic decks are rare, I thought it could not hurt to bring one in. Which one do you think has a better chance of repairability? Thanks!

You're in the New York / New Jersey area, right? If there's a shop that can fix a U-matic anywhere in the world, it's probably there. And not just because it's a big city! It's because so much broadcasting has been done in NYC since the first days of TV. So I'd bet that it probably has the largest % of U-matic tapes anywhere in the world as a result.

Google and the phone book are your friends here.

Thanks! What I am saying is since these decks are very heavy, does one of the problems listed above seem easier to repair? For example I found a place but they charge $40 regardless if they can fix it. If they can then it is a deposit, but if they can't you're out of luck. So I would rather bring the one that has a better chance of life.

Stanton TV is in NY and they dont charge unless they can fix it

Thanks, but does anyone know which deck seems more repairable? To fix first? I tried looking into Stanton TV and there is no mention of VCR repair. It's also very far and will cost a bit to get there. Not that it is impossible, if there is nothing else. Unfortunately, I could not find many working U-matic repair centers in the NYC metro area. I did find one but they charge for estimates, obviously because they can.

If I can't find any place the last step would be to ship it the JVC repair center. Previously I brought a SVHS deck to a repair center and they said they could not fix it because JVC would not release the service manual.

Stanton does work on VCR's
there is no real way to know which is an easier fix
so i would just try the one you like better or is in better overall shape
mailing even a heavy deck is usually not too expensive within your own state

The video hobby (and photo hobby) simply costs money. No way around it. I learned 20 years ago to suck it up and open your wallet. Sometimes I didn't learn this lesson fast enough! "If I'd only have spent a few more dollars, I could have solved this problem years ago."

Thanks. Mailing is a good idea. It's not that I don't want to spend money, it's just that the vcr repair center near me charges $40 per estimate. On three different occasions I gave them two professional SVHS decks and a consumer one and they couldn't do anything. So I wonder if they think it's easier to just take the estimate and not bother with the tedium that would follow...They said that my consumer svhs vcr needed a back tension band, but said there are no longer parts for the model I have, and therefore could do nothing--identical-named parts from different models can never be interchanged?

You answered your own question here ... I wouldn't use them anymore either. :smack:

Just to give an update, should others be in a similar position, in NYC I found that the only place that does not charge for a vcr/u-matic repair estimate is called newhitech. Other places charge from $40 to $80 for vcrs, and $100-$160 for U-Matics. Stanton TV does not repair u-matics, but I may send the vcr there given what others have said.

Are there any places in the US recommended for U-Matic repair? Videotex?

-- merged --

Also I spoke to Starlit TV--the guy said if the other place diagnosed a problematic back-tension band it most likely cannot be replaced unless the band is available from the same model. We can put a man on the moon--and possibly Mars--but no one can fix a broken VCR?

Still looking for U-Matic repair...

this will be a problem going forward - VCRs and especially big broadcast deck like u-matics are huge complicated electro-mechanical devices. the guys who where trained to fix these 20-30 years ago are retiring and/or passing away. no young techs are going to bother learning to fix these as there is zero money in it.

There might as well be a VTR Historical Society so people in the year 2200 can look back at these ancient creatures, in the same way we appreciate the Babbage machine. Though by then we will have returned to the stone age.